Clockwise live at The Cavern Club (Back Stage) as part of the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) Liverpool Festival 2011
Date: Sunday, May 22nd 2011
Stage Time: 11pm
Clockwise’s Line-Up: Claude Kent, Brent Welbourn, Jason Eagan and James Pollock
Event Line-Up: Around 150 various music acts taking part in the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) Liverpool Festival 2011 (May 17th-24th 2011)
Venue: The Cavern Club (Back Stage)
Ticket Price: Free entry before 8pm/£2 on the door from 8pm onwards
Bands’ Merchandise: Faders On Stun, Too Little Too Late, Accidentally On Purpose (CDs for £8 each or 3 for £20), t-shirts (£10 each) and stickers (free)
Clockwise hit The Cavern Club (Back Stage) at 11pm.
The sixth day of the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) Liverpool Festival 2011 brought about Clockwise’s third consecutive year performing at the Liverpool leg of the festival, which showcases their musical ambitions and must be commended having travelled all the way from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to perform at such a legendary venue as The Cavern Club, having also performed at the IPO Toronto Festival in 2009 and 2010 at The Rivoli.
Clockwise hit the stage at 11pm with an energetic set full of almost every genre and sub-genre imaginable. Their set showcased their musical talents in every which way possible and proved one thing; that Clockwise cannot possibly be pigeon-holed into simply one genre or category, as each and every one of their songs cover a multitude of genres. Clockwise were certainly a hit once again for the third successive year as they sold £75 in merchandise and consistently had strong attendance and audience participation throughout their stay in Liverpool.
Each one of their three albums and their latest single I Don’t Know, all showcase Claude Kent’s (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Brent Welbourn’s (lead guitar and backing vocals), Jason Eagan’s (bass and backing vocals) and James Pollock’s (drums and backing vocals) abilities to construct catchy songs laden with hooks, riffs, melodies and harmonies. In my opinion, it is rare to find a four-piece band that all contributes to the vocals of their songs and yet, Clockwise not only pull it off easily, but perfect it and master it in a way that no other band seem to know how to, throughout their back catalogue of 30 currently released studio recorded songs as well as at every gig that they perform live on stage.
Clockwise’s opening song was Too Much On Your Plate from their debut album, Accidentally On Purpose, which was released in 2000. It is a song that questions and reflects upon just how much work is too much and just how much work is required to earn enough money to live life normally on a day-to-day basis.
Clockwise’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Claude Kent.
Too Much On Your Plate was followed up by two songs from their third album Faders On Stun, which received a 2008 release. First up was Water On The Moon, an up-tempo song, which questions the greed from the powers of that be, who would quite gladly export water from the moon back to Earth, only to charge large sums for it, quite reminiscent of oil prices. Second up was If You Don’t Want Love (I Must Be Wrong), which is a love song about an on-off relationship.
The audience were treated to a preview of Clockwise’s upcoming fourth album, set for release late 2011/early 2012.
The set also included a two song preview from Clockwise’s upcoming fourth album, which is set to be released late 2011 or early 2012. The two songs called Sugar Coat It and What’s The Big Secret. If you want a preview of what their fourth album will be like, then check out the International Pop Overthrow: Volume 14 compilation album, which features Sugar Coat It, amongst other music acts participating globally in IPO 2011.
Clockwise’s lead guitarist and backing vocalist Brent Welbourn with his trademark “Beer Me” t-shirt.
The preview of Clockwise’s upcoming fourth album was followed by a return to their third album with performances of the first two songs from Faders On Stun. First up was Opposites Attract, a song about a conflicting and confusing relationship, which is told much in the same vein as Hello, Goodbye by The Beatles. Second up was You Really Got Me Going, a song about a meaningful relationship, which sees one person being so caught up by it, that he or she cannot wait to see that significant other half in their life that means so much to oneself. After the performance, one of the members of the audience and a fellow musician and performer Jeremy Morris described You Really Got Me Going as a “hit song” due to its catchy riffs and lyrics.
Rich And Famous was up next – A riff-laden, anthem that would be just as big as Nickelback’s Rock Star if it was to be released under a major record label. The song is from their debut album Accidentally On Purpose (2000) and is about one man’s quest to be…Rich and famous! While also covering the pit-falls of fame and how quick it can fade. A big change coming at the end of each live performance of the song, as Clockwise’s vocalist Claude Kent changes the lyrics up from “Someday, we’re all gonna be fabulously rich and famous” to “Someday, we’re all gonna be fabulously rich and famous! Just like!…Just like!…” followed by a person’s name, whether it be a famous person or a member of the audience. In this case Claude Kent chose the founder of the International Pop Overthrow Festival, David Bash.
Clockwise’s bass guitarist and backing vocalist Jason Eagan.
Rich And Famous was followed up by the only cover version of the set, which was an energetic rendition of Joe Jackson’s I’m The Man. Claude Kent sights Joe Jackson as one of the bands’ influences and it was clear to see with how well they performed their cover version of I’m The Man.
You Are A Star followed the cover version of I’m The Man. You Are A Star is about addressing an inspirational person in your life for how far they have come, what they have achieved and what they have learnt along their journey. You Are A Star is arguably Clockwise’s most popular song, as it has been in Music World Radio’s Alternative Top 20 Chart for fifty consecutive weeks and is currently only two more consecutive weeks away from making Clockwise the second most successful music act on the chart to date! Ironically, the song is not even from Clockwise’s latest album, as it is from their second album Too Little, Too Late released in 2006. Their motto is “Vote wise…Vote Clockwise!” and if you want to help them in that quest, then feel free to “Vote wise…Vote Clockwise!” at http://www.topchoons.com
Just to see you smile, makes Clockwise happy for a while.
The half-hour set ended with the opening song from their second album called See You Smile. It was an appropriate song to play, because after having saw Clockwise perform live as well as they did, I cannot imagine anyone doing anything else than being totally absorbed by their music and presence on the stage, which meant that Claude, Brent, Jason and James were really seeing a lot of people smiling having witnessed what was surely one of the best performances of the entirety of the IPO Liverpool Festival 2011.
In summary, I did not have a favourite song from Clockwise’s performance, as I thought all of their songs were amazing with not a single mistake to be heard as the entire band was as tight with their timing and were as well rehearsed as they could have been!
If you are yet to experience Clockwise performing live on stage, then be sure to attend the International Pop Overthrow Liverpool Festival 2012 at The Cavern Club, were Clockwise will be sure to return!
Concert Rating: 10 out of 10!
-Jason Boner
(photography by Alan Kenny)
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